Toronto Traffic Just Got Even Slower

Because it wasn't bad already...

As if the traffic in this city wasn't terrible already, the Toronto-East York community council has unanimously voted to lower speed limits to 30 km/h within the area. This will affect 387 km of local roads downtown and in East York. So, a lot of us.

Councillor Josh Matlow said that it “is not going to stop people from speeding, but it’s going to contribute” to the decrease of it. Reports show that city staff believe pedestrian and cyclist safety could be improved due to these changes. Toronto’s Public Health Department is in agreement.

However, these changes never come without some sort of catch. Changing signs and traffic signals to reflect the lower speed limit will cost around $1.1 million to follow through which was not accounted for in the 2015 budget. Yikes. Several councillors noted that speeding and traffic safety are one of the top priorities in their wards, with some hoping that the changes happen quickly.

Some wards that will be affected by this change include:

14 (Parkdale-High Park) Gord Perks

19 (Trinity-Spadina) Mike Layton

21 (St. Paul’s) Joe Mihevc

27 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) Kristyn Wong-Tam

28 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) Pam McConnell

29 (Toronto-Danforth) Mary Fragedakis

31 (Beaches-East York) Janet Davis

32 (Beaches-East York) Mary-Margaret McMahon

It may be worthwhile to note that Mayor John Tory has no vote at the Toronto-East York council, thereby sparing him from whatever reactions the community at-large may have on these decisions. You've got us this time, Tory.